japan – SASS Global Travel

Japan Powder Discovery Trip: Week 2

After a full week of fresh snow every day, it was hard to believe this trip would continue to deliver on such a scale. Lucky for us, it did.

After leaving a few satisfied SASS family members in Sapporo, the rest of the crew took off for Asahidake up in the central part of Hokkaido where the mountains get a bit bigger and the crowds get a bit smaller. As mentioned in our Japan Recon post, Asahidake has a single tramway that helps visitors access a bunch of unpatrolled backcountry style terrain that includes pillowy tree skiing, hike-to open pow fields, big cliffs, small cliffs and one massive high-alpine volcano. With no crowds to speak of and a traditional Japanese cabin to call home, we were set up for success.

Our Japan Program Page

Again, Asahidake delivered and the words “best run of my life” were said at least once. We spent two days laughing, smiling and killing it all over that mountain.

With a late flight out in the afternoon the next day, the crew nailed it for a day at Sapporo Teine. Looking at the weather we expected a bit of new snow, but had no idea it was going to end up being the deepest, face-shottiest day of the trip. Travis was a bit more than excited…

Next stop: Hakuba. We jumped on a plane out of Sappoyro to check out the mountains surrounding Hakuba, located on Japan’s main island, Honshu. Meeting up with SASS Argentina guide, and new Hakuba local, Jon Conway, we spent our first blue-bird day of the trip at Happo One for some early morning resort pow laps and then split up for the afternoon. Half the crew opted for a booze-cruise, Lucas style, around the resort’s many fine drinking establishments. The rest of us continued some recon off of the North-Side and into the backcountry. The terrain was unreal, but the wind and terrain-trap potential were high. After making some choice turns and getting across the river out of harm’s way, it was apparent that 1) this was serious, big and awesome terrain; 2) the snow and weather are, in general, much more variable than on Hokkaido; 3) there is a ton of potential here, but it would mostly be during the spring when the avy danger calms down a bit. Hence our decision to focus on Hokkaido for our SASS Japan program in the future.

After one more day in Hakuba the crew packed up for a final day exploring Tokyo. Dinner and debauchery ensued, but everyone managed to make their flight out the next day.

Overall the Japan Powder Discover Trip was a huge success. Endless amounts of snow helped, but the crew made it even better. Looking forward to helping make experiences like this happen for more people in the future… Could be you next time.

Our Japan Program Page

Japan Powder Discovery Trip: Week 1

We are here in Japan on a discovery trip with some of our favorite clients to find out what everyone has been talking about. For years, we have been discussing the possibility of opening a new SASS trip in Japan. Our plan was to put together a trip based on the advice that many seasoned Japan skiers and snowboarders have been offering us over the years as well as some preliminary recon of our own. We decided to bring along a select group of some of our favorite SASS family members to gain feedback and see which spots put the biggest smile on their faces.

Our Japan Program Page

For the first week our itinerary was loose and we freestyled our way around the north island of Hokkaido hitting as many spots as possible…

The crew met up in Sapporo and were immediately introduced to traditional Japanese cuisine in order to fuel up for the coming powder filled days.

After deciding that the snow wasn’t up to snuff at Sapporo Teine, we switched it up and spent our first day at Sapporo Kokusai. Kokusai was the perfect warm-up to skiing in Japan. 15 cms of new snow, perfectly spaced trees and simple sidecountry access gave us the opportunity to shred and get through some beacon drills to refresh everyone’s memory.

Next we headed straight for the Niseko area with our eyes set on the lesser-known Moiwa ski area. It simply wouldn’t stop snowing for the next three days. We spent the first two lapping through the top gate of Moiwa playing in the trees, jumping off of pillows and avoiding the crowds of the famous Niseko United resorts. Despite our love for Moiwa’s privacy and ski-in-ski-out access, we wanted to explore what Niseko United had to offer as well. We dipped over to Niseko Annupuri to get a few laps in the morning. Our recently discovered off-piste zones delivered newly deposited knee-deep freshness and the crowds seemed to be unaware of their existence. Skipping over the less desirable terrain of Niseko Village and Grand Hirafu, we continued to wrap around all the way to Niseko Hanazono for more stashes of gate-accessed side-country that we had all to ourselves.

After two days of heavy snowfall and sun in the forecast (a rarity at a ski area that seems to get endless strings of daily dumps) we made the short drive from the base of Moiwa to Rusutsu. The sun was out and the famous Japanese powder was deep. The views from the top almost distracted us from the blower that was to be had below. The recon we did before the trip began proved effective as we spent the day shaking our heads unable to believe that every day just kept getting better.

We snuck in one more unforgettable day at Moiwa as it began to feel more and more like home (plus the surprise 20cms didn’t hurt). Next we head north to Asahidake for some backcountry missions Japan style…

Our Japan Program Page

Japan Powder Recon Trip

After years of hearing about the magic that is skiing and snowboarding in Japan, we finally decided to see what all of the fuss is about in order to create a new SASS Global Travel experience in the future. We spent the fall months researching the ski areas, terrain and weather in Japan, spending hours on the phone with experienced skiers and riders who have spent time all over both islands on piste and in the backcountry. Our resources were vast thanks to the eternal SASS Family. Next we set up a flexible itinerary for a select group of core clients, but first we obviously had to get feet on the ground.

Our Japan Program Page

I was the first one to hit Japanese soil. Heading straight for Hokkaido, my mission was to check out as many areas as possible to get an idea of the Japanese ski terrain and how it would relate to our future clients. Hitting up Sapporo Kokusai for untouched deserted laps, I was properly introduced to skiing in Japan. I raced to the biggest, steepest pillow line I saw from the gondola worried it would get skied if I didn’t capitalize on it early. After figuring out the convoluted moves required to stand atop it, I soon realized that no one ever went within 100 meters of that zone (probably due to the maze required to get there). Totally worth it.

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Now even more excited for the months to come, I took the train over to the more famous Niseko area, known for its abundance of snow and the close proximity of its numerous ski areas. It was somewhat difficult to get the lay of the land due to the amount of snow falling from the sky and hitting me in the face. It snowed over two meters in the first three days. Utilizing on a few brief patches of clear sky and lots of pow laps, I figured out the lay of the land at Moiwa, Niseko Annupuri and the rest of the Niseko United resorts. All of Moiwa seemed to be a secret stash, but the rest of the resorts required a bit more work before I put together a strong lists of must-hit-earlies, wait-til-laters, and seemingly-undiscovereds.

Watching the weather I chose the right day to take a shuttle over to Rusutsu (high on the recommendation list) for the deepest day of my life. Snow was packing up my nose so much on every turn on the first run that I literally got brain freeze from all the Japan powder. No Joke. Nipple deep, free refills and playful terrain made for an unreal day. I also figured out where to pass powder for way more powder for future reference. Also this happened:

The crew started getting bigger when SASS family member and helpful shred partner, Gabe Ciafre met me in Sapporo. The next day The Lucas and David Burg, logistics guru, joined us. A three-hour-left-side-of-the-road drive later and we were up at Asahidake to check out the lesser known, unpatrolled, off-piste, backcountry tramway. We were not disappointed by the 30 cms of new snow that morning. Asahidake delivered coldsmoke all day and it even went bluebird in the afternoon allowing us to push onto the further ridges for longer pitches. Plus it gave me the opportunity to get this dope shot of Gabe in Japan powder:

Day two at Asahidake was spent on skins with a thwarted attempt (thanks wind) at some of the volcano lines that rise up above the tramway. We still skinned around to figure out how far we can push it and what it requires to get back. The day added some less-than-obvious ridges and numerous pillow zones to our bag of tricks.

Oh, and we found a bar made of ice…

Back in Sapporo, Gabe and I went on a scouting mission over at Teine and found some serious lines that everyone seems to avoid as well as some more playful tree skiing all with views overlooking the city.

With more time later in the the trip scheduled for backcountry recon, now that we know the lay of the land it’s time to test out our knowledge on some eager clients…

Our Japan Program Page